Change of Season
by Jiwwy
Summary: Sequel to everyone's favorite amnesia!draco-fun fic, "Runaway." After their various ordeals, the Weasley kids, Harry, Herm and Draco are all on their way to their 5th year. Please read Runaway first! I ADDED TO Ch.5!! ^_^
1. Change of Season

(A/N: Please forgive me if I'm a bit a sketchy on the details of the next scene or so, I've only been to one funeral ever. *small smile*)

(A/N: Also, what should I call this stupid thing? I'm just calling it Change of Season 'cause that's the song I'm listening to right now and I'm not creative, and it's set in fall *a hur, I'm funny* Any suggestions? Take your time, I want to actually think up one of those plot things everyone's so excited about before the next chappy)

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**Change of Season**

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**Chapter One**

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A sad song was being played somewhere in the church. It wasn't anything Hermione recognized; it must have been a wizarding song. 

No one was talking; everything from their clothes to the dim lighting itself was so dark… Except of course for the Harry, Hermione, Lee Jordan, the other Weasley children's best friends, and of course the Weasleys themselves. They all wore the last sweater Mrs. Weasley had given each of them. Hermione did feel a bit silly in the lavender jumper, but Ron had insisted. She had on a dark violet skirt too, to try to make up for any disrespect the pastel sweater might unintentionally mean.

The Weasley children had all nominated Bill to go and read a speech for them. It had been very beautiful… About how they were sorry for every discourteous word they'd ever said, for every time they'd snuck out without asking (Bill and Charlie mostly, so far), every time they'd blown anything valuable up (the twins of course), for all the times they'd ever done anything that would make their parents not smile, they had been sorry. 

"We know you're in a better place now- a place without boys coming home for five minutes to ask for money then leaving, a place where there are no worries of a failed Apparation test, where peace is a given thing and Fred and George don't have to be bound and gagged in the basement. (A few scattered smiles)

"We hope we'll be better, we know the time you've already put in for us is enough to make us successful and sure of ourselves. And once you've had enough peace, we hope we can meet you again someday." Bill stopped and ran his fingers down either side of his nose, discreetly wiping tears. "We miss you." He stepped down.

Dumbledore himself spoke after Bill. His eyes were deep blue with a dark melancholy surrounding them. "There is not much else to say at such a time of grief. I am sure that the Weasley family will survive, over centuries this clan has faced many hardships and come out of every single one, stronger and with higher wills. Brilliant minds, strong ethics, and sharp wit can be seen only in this small group I see in front of me." He smiled and nodded to the seven Weasley children in their brightly colored attire. "They will carry on in the face of danger. Already, Ronald and Virginia have faced the mind of Voldemort in his many forms. Both have come out stronger than they were before and I must honour them because of this. 

"We must all stay strong in the face of evil. Margaret and Arthur Weasley died heroes' deaths because they were willing to fight. Nothing more could be asked, than that they are now being rewarded wherever they are. Thank you."

Dumbledore stepped down.

***

Almost everyone in the church had shed at least one tear by the time the ceremony was over. Harry clutched himself inside his big dragon sweater and listened to the sad music playing as they were being let out. He looked around and saw Hermione a few rows back. She smiled sadly at him and picked at her own lavender quill-and-book-and-'H' sweater. In the back of the church sat Lupin and a large black dog whose shoulders came up to Lupin's waist. Lupin smiled and… Harry seemed to think Sirius winked, but as he was a dog it was hard to tell.

Harry turned back around and patted Ron's shoulder, giving him the same smile Hermione just had. Ron gave him the smallest shadow of a smile as he shuffled out of the pew. Harry walked next to him and Hermione joined them as they went down the aisle. They walked in silence until they were out of the church. Ron was supposed to stay and shake peoples' hands in the entrance hall with his siblings but he didn't feel up to it. They sat under a huge Weeping Willow on the front lawn of the church.

"So I guess it's been a pretty bad summer all around, huh?" Harry asked as he picked a length of the willow branch and swished it around like a wand. Hermione and Ron stayed silent. "Er… what happened with Draco, Hermione?"

Hermione, who was picking grass, shot her eyes up at Harry with an evil glare. Ron did the same thing, only to Hermione. "What's this about Draco?" he snapped.

"Well, um, you see… Harry?" She gave him the saddest pleading look that said this was one thing she very much did not want to be explaining to Ron.

"Apparently, Malfoy got down with amnesia and found his way to Hermione's house. For three days." Harry grinned up at Ron. He didn't usually like stirring up trouble like this, but even a Ron/Hermione bloodbath was better than them not talking at all. 

"_What_?!" Ron shrieked and sat up. "You… No."

Hermione looked like she was having a migraine. "I do wish you'd stay out of my love life, Ron."

"Oh… My… God. No. Nonononono. You did not just… refer to M-Malfoy… as your _love life?!_ I'll… good God… I…" he made a choking noise and settled on his back. "I mean… NO!" He suddenly got up again. "Hermione… Draco _Malfoy! _Our Malfoy… and… my Hermione… and, Mudblood… and… slap… I, NO!"

"Harry, what have you done to the poor thing?" Hermione stared between Harry and Ron, who was now nearing convulsions.

"I… but… You didn't really mean to _say_ love life, though, did you?"

"… Well, I guess…"

"No!" Harry yelled. "Eww! That's just… Hermione!" He started going the way of Ron. Hermione glared at him and sat up. 

"What is with you two, he's… kind of nice, really! You're just judging him on how he was before! He's… he's changed!"

She walked away, leaving the boys still sputtering.

***

Draco chewed on the side of his mouth as he watched Lupin's television. He'd been staying with Remus and Sirius ever since his parents had been taken in for questioning on the various charges of the practice of Dark Arts and then things about child abuse. Draco thought the child abuse charges were absurd, but then… that was how he was brought up. It really wasn't as much abuse as neglect, but he'd never really been neglected. How could he be with such a huge array of servants and house-elves?

Oh well, he'd think about all that when he was supposed to be testifying. Right now he wanted popcorn. Yeah. But Lupin didn't have any popcorn. Blasphemy. 

He also wished Hermione were here, but everyone was at the Weasley parents' funeral. He hadn't been invited. Couldn't blame them. Hermione had been right, Draco had been nothing short of a prick all his time at Hogwarts. 

Hogwarts. That reminded him, how were he and Hermione going to handle this whole thing when they went to school? Well, he'd probably need her to think through that, but really, what could they do? So many things about his life had been changed in just the last few weeks. His father arrested, his girlfriend muggle-born… but he was still in Slytherin. How would everyone take that? Well… really, no one _asked_ much about what was going on to their fellow Slytherins, especially the boys. Whether they liked it or not, most of them _were_ the sons of Death Eaters, and as long as Voldemort stayed powerful, their future was as Death Eaters. Whether they liked it or not…

And now Draco didn't like it.

He liked Hermione. And popcorn. Popcorn was good too. Cereal.

***

You can take out that last sentence, if you prefer to have a less retarded version of this. ^_^

Oh my, in my rush to get out the last chapter of Runaway, I forgot to do the thankyous. Well, here we go!!

_TO THE SUPER SLENDIFEROUS CHAPTER 11-13 REVIEWERS!2!#$2!#$123!!:_

Chrissy, Emaeleigha, Caitlin, JudgeDP, G*Ness, Jaya, RebeccaSL8, FireBallFlier, michee, Cypheria, daydreamer, krissy, TALEWG, Chrissyagain!, Kasaki, A Writer, badgrrrl, porkypop, G*Nessagain!, FireballFlieragain!, quidditchis better than basketball (basketballSUCKS!), AngelzGazeX2, selena, thelostgirl, *whines about fingers getting tired*, micheeagain!, oreo of love, porkypopagain!, Draco is the king of the world, Lady Scorpio, Caswy, JudgeDP (I'm cruel and eeevil), Aubbah, Chaw, A Writeragain!, Emaeleighagain! (sploosh), oreo of loveagain!, badgrrrlagain!, G*Nessagain!, porkypopagain!, Seamus Finnigan, Trippinwithcats, micheeagain! And last but not least Wooookah!


	2. In Which Ron Gets One Up

(A/N: Change of Season is by Matthew Good Band. It's funky and cool and seven minutes long. *nods* You must download it. NOW!)

(Even though Fearless by the same band is better)****

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**Chapter Two**

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Remus was dropping Draco off at King's Cross to go to Hogwarts. 

Vernon and Petunia were taking Harry, as far as Hermione knew.

Bill was bringing in Ron and Ginny, he was still on vacation to help the younger kids.

Hermione sat outside, bundled in a thin fall trench coat, waiting for someone to come. Her parents had had to drop her off early on their way to the office, and trusted her to wander around by herself for about two hours. Of course, there wasn't much trouble to get into, especially when one only had a pocketful of sickles and a few galleons in one's suitcase. She'd mainly just wandered around, and when she felt no one was looking, she'd sneak into Nine and Three-Quarters to see if anyone had gone past her without her noticing.

She was just starting to get hungry when a small blue sports car sidled up to the curb.  In the front was Sirius, looking quite dashing in muggle name-brand sunglasses and newly-choppily cut hair that made him look much younger, not at all like the ex-convict she'd met back in third year. He winked at her as Draco got out of the passenger side and went to the trunk without noticing her. He, on the other hand, looked exactly as he always had, except for only earlier that summer, when his hair hung around his eyes and down to his chin and swayed around in such a handsome, carefree fashion. He'd gone back to gelling it, and the silver-blond locks were swept back in classic vampire fashion. _Blegh_. Thought Hermione as he started up the steps, then, halfway up, finally noticed her. 

"Hey!" He called and grinned. 

She smiled back, a very, very fake smile, and when he got close enough—

"_Hermione_!" He yelled as she brought her hands up to his hair and ruffled it with a vengeance. "What the hell!" 

"There. That looks better."

"Wh- what… You… You suck!" he got out of his pocket- she couldn't believe it- it was a mirror. He brought it up to his hair and moaned, then went to flattening it back down. "I look like Sirius on crack with a bottle of peroxide!"

"I'm sorry, you just looked so stupid… So old Draco." She giggled a little. "Come on, I'll set it straight…" she got up on her tiptoes and flattened his hair back down, then sighed. "There you are, nice and horrible." He glared at her.

"Well, I'll be getting a seat now, are you going to stand there mourning your poor hair all day?" She set off without an answer.

"Yes. Yes I am," He mumbled, but followed her into the station after stuffing his mirror back into his pocket.

***

Half an hour later Ron and Harry arrived. Hermione was dragging her suitcase into the compartment with help from Ginny when Draco coughed, wanting her attention. "Yes?" She asked, giving the suitcase a little kick just as Ginny hopped over it into the compartment. 

"Hermione- I'd really… rather not. Sit in there."

"Draco, where else are you going to-" She stopped as she looked up, see the look on his face. He looked quite sick, actually, and was jutting his chin into the compartment, where Ron sat in the opposite seat, bouncing an eraser against his leg and glaring at Draco. Hermione looked back at Draco with a sympathetic look. 

"Well, I'm not sitting with Crabbe and Goyle, if that's what you mean." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall, a piece of chestnut covering her eye.

Draco sighed heavily. "Do we absolutely have to sit together?"

"Yes. We agreed on this Draco. We treat it just like any other kids going out. We have to make sure people know, and they know it isn't a big deal…"

"I'm not sitting with them though."

"Okay, I'll see you tonight." She made a move to jump over the suitcase herself, when he finally let out another melodramatic sigh. "I'm not promising I'll be nice."

"I can settle for a lack of open hostility." She held up her hands in compromise. "Now help me get this in here. You're being severely disagreeable today, you know that don't you,"

He mumbled something under his breath. "What was that, Draco Aidan Malfoy?"

"Nothing, mother."

She glared. Draco turned to Ron and Harry, pointing his finger at them as if they were doing something very wrong. "I'm warning you. Me going with Hermione does not equal me liking _you two_." They each raised an eyebrow, Ron still bouncing the eraser.

***

About thirty minutes into the train ride, Ron had transfigured his eraser to be white. He still bounced it incessantly against his leg. Harry had been staring at it the entire train ride, hoping to take his mind off of the uncomfortable silence Draco caused in their normally chattery compartment. 

Ron now got out his wand again. The eraser grew short little legs and bits of fur. Draco glared contemptuously at Ron, now realizing what he was alluding to. Ron glared back.

Ten minutes later, it was a full-fledged miniature ferret. "_Hermione_!" Draco suddenly yelled, making Ginny jump out of her sleep and Harry snap a bit back to consciousness. Hermione looked barely disheveled, she was immersed in Hogwarts: A History. 

"Yes?"

"He's… he's taunting me!"

Hermione closed her eyes and heard a scuffle. "_Hermione!"_

"Yes Ron?"

"He stole my eraser!" Ron pointed at Draco, outraged. Draco tried to open the window, obviously hoping to throw the eraser out. 

"You don't even need an eraser, Weasley, you use _ink_!" 

"Yeah! But it's _my _eraser!"

Hermione finally looked up, shooting both boys venomous glances. "Draco, give Ron his eraser. Ron, turn it back into an eraser and put it _away_."

Ron smirked at Draco as he reluctantly handed him the ferret. "Whipped, fwi-chew!" Ron murmured under his breath.

"Ronald!" Hermione warned. The rest of the train ride was relatively peaceful.

***

COR! Lookit, there's… millions and millions! *or two dozen* Reviews!!

Thanks sososososososo much to: Natasha, *Tanya*, Emaeleigha (don't worry, Draco will get back at 'im), sharon, Chrissy, quidditch is better than basketball, Tinkerbell, FireballFlier, Lavender, Caswy, leanne, Fyredra (this slow enough for you ~_^), porkypop, Lady Scorpio, michee, S.Maldiva, S&D lover, Hermione, Rhiannon Greenleaf, gdzfge, Vivianita, A Writer, Draco's Queen, aaaand Moonstone!!!


	3. Pedophiles, Gnus, and Snogging. Oh my!

EMAELEIGHA! You…you inspired me! *sobs, hugs in a happy awww soap opera made-for-TV-movie-whatever fashion, then coughs and goes back to the story*

Chapter Three. In which Ron becomes a pedophile, Draco gets some action from Ron's girl, Dumbledore says a word I don't know, and Harry actually talks. Once.

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Chapter Three

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Hermione glanced across the Great Hall on a whim and smiled a mysterious little smile at Draco. He nodded. She scrunched her nose at him angrily and he winked. Ha. Got him. Crabbe looked at him funnily, and Draco glared back at him.

Hermione went back to the Gryffindor table. Ron was across the table from Harry, whom she was sitting next to, and was gawking openly at her, knowing that the expressions were just for Malfoy, but didn't say anything. Ginny looked between Ron and Hermione, then to Harry with a cocked eyebrow. Harry took his cue and cleared his throat.

"Hmm?" Both answered, Hermione trying not to start anything with Ron and Ron shooting daggers at her.

"Er, oh look! The sorting's starting!" Harry said rather loudly. Ginny grinned and looked over to the doors, where the first years were emerging. Finally Ron and Hermione did too.  

"Wait, who's that? She looks… wow…" Ron said, and Hermione followed his gaze to a girl near the front of the line. She had silver hair very similar to one…

"Fleur… Delacour…" Ron managed to finish finally.

"Watch out for a flood of drool over there, Gin," Hermione said dryly, watching the small girl.

Harry took his glasses off and shined them, wondering where Fleur was, until finally his eyes rested on the girl, who had her chin high and her eyelids lowered as she followed McGonagall down the tables. "No… that's…" he tried to remember her name. "Gabrielle! The thing Fleur would miss most!"

"Tch! What's she doing at Hogwarts?" Parvati Patil flipped her hair over her shoulder, putting on the same expression Gabrielle herself had. Hermione shrugged, but most of the boys seemed entranced. Hermione and Ginny exchanged horrified looks. Surely a veela had to at least have gone through puberty before mastering her charms? 

"Aw, Seamus, isn't that your brother you were talking about? He's just darling, isn't he!" Ginny said loudly. Seamus just nodded a little bit and tried to work his mouth.

"This school year… it'll be icky, won't it?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"It does seem so, doesn't it."

***

Meanwhile, back at the Slytherin table, not much notice had been taken to the veela girl, as everyone was busy interrogating Draco, Pansy Parkinson in particular. "Draco, dear, I just feel too horrible about your father, but what is this I hear… The rumors, Draco, they're just horrible… totally… What I mean, you see…" Pansy kept wringing her hands under the table. One would be strongly reminded of Cornelius Fudge. 

Draco looked completely bored and nothing less as he leaned back in his chair and watched Pansy go back on her words, repeat them, and attempt to make things easy to swallow. "What's your point?" He finally said coolly, as he played with a fork and yawned. Pansy cocked her head to the side and gave him the sweetest look of fake sympathy. He smirked the smallest bit. She took this as a pathetic plea for help and said, "Oh, Draco I knew they couldn't be true!" How could you ever love a filthy… Mudblood over me?"

Draco blinked. "I never said anything to that effect."

Pansy blinked back. "What are you saying?" 

Crabbe and Goyle were distracted from a silverware swordfight by this interesting conversation.

Draco shrugged. "I'm going with Granger."

Pansy looked near fainting. In fact, she did put the back of her hand to her forehead melodramatically. "Draco! You… no!"

He had to stop himself from laughing. "What?"

"G-Gryfindor… She's a Gryffindor… and a… Mudblood! How could you, Draco! How could you do this to me?"

He was still leaning back, and his body language suggested something of a lazy cat stuffed with gourmet tuna and put to sleep on a cloud-soft pillow. He hadn't twitched one inch and wasn't the least ruffled by Pansy's speech, which had called the attention of the entirety of the Slytherin table. "What?" He said, as Pansy broke out in horrible screeching sobs. "Oh. Yeah, is this about that whole relationship thing you formed in your head?" 

She glared at him intensely. He blinked innocently. Finally he sighed. "Good god Pansy, are you that thick? I'm only… going out with Granger to… find out information on Potter." He leaned in closer. "You know, for our side?"

Her lip quivered, but she still nodded solemnly. "It's… it's good to know… you're keeping on the Malfoy way." She cooed, suddenly getting over her heartbreak. He cocked an eyebrow but nodded. "Pansy, father'll only be in jail for a few months… that is if he doesn't pay bail, which… well, you know. He will."

She smiled and bobbed her head again happily, then rested back against her chair with a superior look towards Crabbe and Goyle. Draco, too, went back to leaning back on two legs of his chair, trying to look as smug as she did. He wished the ceremony would be over already, he needed to talk to Hermione.

***

Ginny was starving. She was surprised her stomach wasn't distracting everyone from watching the ceremony… or in Ron and Hermione's case, glaring at each other in a highly obvious way, without any provocation between them, as far as she knew. Finally, McGonagall started the sorting after a very long, very boring tune from the sorting hat, describing all the ways the colors of the various houses relate to the characteristics of them. He must have had a bad creative streak this year.

Ginny now realized the Sorting wasn't such an enthralling thing to watch either, so tuned it out while staring at her plate, only coming back to earth every now and then when a Gryffindor was announced, when she automatically joined the clapping and was overjoyed when the food finally appeared. 

Hermione ticked them off. "Six Gryffindor girls, seven Gryffindor boys."

"You should hope they aren't too rowdy, Hermione, you'll be in charge of them, and that's a fairly big class." Ginny noted quickly before being cut off by Hermione-

"Six Ravenclaw girls, Four Ravenclaw boys; five Hufflepuff girls, six Hufflepuff boys; and five Slytherin girls and five Slytherin boys."

Ron looked over to the Slytherin table as Dumbledore started to speak. "_Yeah_!" He said angrily. "The Slytherins get Gabrielle."

Everyone in the hall had gone quiet two seconds before Ron had yelled this. His eyes widened and his face reddened, and he sunk down into his chair until his forehead hit the table. Ginny giggled. Dumbledore did too, but then he started to speak.

"Welcome, welcome new students. I won't like to keep you from your feeding time, so I only need say a few words: Dinghy! Guava! Gnu! Falafel! Thank you, and happy ingestion." 

Hermione and Ginny coughed loudly, exchanged looks, and then went to eating.

***

At the Slytherin table, Gabrielle Delacour had taken a seat next to Pansy. Draco stared at her a while, and she glared back intensely. 

"So."

She looked up from a plateful of food that looked bigger than her own torso.

"You're… Fleur's sister… right?"

She glared. He finally gave up and glared back. Pansy looked between one another with a raised eyebrow. Neither looked away. "Er… Draco?" Pansy said quietly. 

"No." He said without even paying attention. Pansy looked near tears… again.

Gabrielle finally looked away from Draco to stare at Pansy. "Well, you are emotional, are you not?"

"What, you little brat?"

Draco laughed out loud. Gabrielle gave him a small smile, but he immediately stopped and pointed at her. "You lost the staring contest. I won."

"So?" She said, suddenly snide again. She crossed her skinny little arms over her chest defiantly.

"You have to give me something." 

"We never said anything about that."

"British Tradition, Frenchy," he lied.

She glared. "Fine." And the little twelve-year-old girl climbed out of her chair and somehow maneuvered her way through the plates of food to give Draco a kiss on the cheek. She then turned right back around and sat down like nothing had happened.

Pansy looked a second shy of a heart attack. Draco just sat there giving Gabrielle the oddest look until he finally just let out a huge guffaw and went back to eating.

Gabrielle smirked a triumphant little-girl smirk at Pansy.

***

Note: Gabby rules. Too Much. I'm a proud R/Glle shipper, even if Ron doesn't deserve such a *potentially* awesome character, and only because Draco should be with 'Mione, and we don't want him to be a bigamist! *nod*

A/N: AWW! Reviewers! You own… your… souls. *nod again*

Thank you: Dasani (I dunno… Harry never seems very… talkative… plus I have my hands full with making Ron and Drakky funny. ^_^) Someone, FireballFlier (Ah… gotta bring the twins in), padfoots girl, G*Ness,  Saman, Rachael (*shrugs and kicks ff.n*),  Fyredra, Caswy, Dracos*~* GirlE (*sniffs nail polish innocently*), 'mione, quidditch is better than basketball (mm), RebeccaSL8, Mayleesa, Miss Giggles4ever, Poetic Pheonix (YAY! Down with Ron! 'Cept when he's with Gabby…), porkypop, little trumpeter (Sirius is… ah, HOT. That's pretty must all you need to know, even though I'm sure everyone knew that already. *grin*), michee (HAPPY YOU! *doesn't like her either*),  Mae Noelle (You'd die. Don't argue, you just would.), Sarah McKatie, Mrs.Amanda Malfoy (mm), Emaeleigha (you're up there, hippie^ ^_^), and Woooookay!

Also: Dumbledore's Few Words (someone should write a story about THAT) came from http://www.geocities.com/timschnabel/ . *nods* And… I used to know what a falafel was, someone refresh my memory?


	4. Common Rooms

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**Chapter Four**

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In the Gryffindor common room, everyone usually went right to bed as soon as they walked in. The same was true for Hufflepuff. Some older Ravenclaws might stay up in theirs for a few minutes, but only to talk about their summers or a new wizarding band or anything else that would take up time tomorrow after they got their schedules. In Slytherin, however, the ambitious children of Hogwarts stay up at least an hour after being stuffed to their seams. Death Eater kids would usually get the fire, but sometimes would go to the back of the common room. The other kids would watch them apprehensively and mumble about cliques.

Draco was lying against the front of an armchair, his legs sprawling out on the rug near the fire as he read his potions text disinterestedly.

"Malfoy?" said a voice. It was Jared Harpe, a fourth-year with spiky brown hair and sharp grey eyes. He wasn't one of the Death Eaters' kids, but he hung on the outskirts of them and was known for being snappy to mudb- Muggle Born children. Then again, he was snappy a lot. "'re you really going with that Gryffindor girl?" He asked, sitting on the rug in front of the armchair opposite Draco's. A sixth-year girl who had been gabbing happily and sitting on the arm of it glared down at him and got up in a huff, thinking he was trying to look up her skirt. Jared rolled his eyes. Draco tried to look unimpressed, but Jared question shocked him a little. It had no conviction, Jared was just curious. 

Draco had never talked to Jared much. "Yeah." He answered finally, flipping a page in his book as if he were reading it.

Jared rubbed his nose. "Oh."

Draco finally looked at him. Jared was looking around boredly. It annoyed Draco, and he didn't know why. _Probably because Jared wasn't waiting on me, like I'm used to, _he thought to himself with an inside smirk. "Like Potions, huh?" Jared suddenly said, pointing to the back cover of the text. Draco glared at him.

"Doesn't every Slytherin?" Snape's favoritism was a plus, wasn't it?

Jared cocked an eyebrow. "Not my girlfriend." He motioned over Draco's shoulder, where a short girl with mousy blonde hair and honey brown eyes was grinning a wide smile at a taller girl with long, curly black hair, the face of whom Draco couldn't see. "Claire Perth." Jared said. They'd both shed their robes, and Jared's girlfriend had on a tight green shirt and a pleated plaid miniskirt. She didn't have much in the way of legs (unlike her friend, who was wearing the school uniform skirt, but still managed to look nice in it, an amazing achievement only made by Padma and Parvati Patil, Susan Bones, and Ginny Weasley that Draco had noticed. He also couldn't say they made Hermione look in any way horrible) but she had a cute shape considering her size. The dungeons were always cold, but could get as warm as seventy on days on the fringes of the school year, when people dared to discard their robes unless wearing a sweater and jeans. "Don't like to gossip, but she's the worst in the school."

"Worse than that Gryffindor, Longbottom?"

Jared looked puzzled, then nodded. "Fat kid with the frog?"

Draco nodded. Longbottom really wasn't too big; he just had ultra chipmunk cheeks that Draco would have settled for taunting him about, if he didn't suck so much at… well, everything.

Jared nodded with a grin. "Worse than him. Claire's… she's smart. Don't think she likes to show it, to Snape at least. She's weird." He smiled a little as she threw back her head, cackling at something the other girl had said. Then she took her friend's hand and led her across the room, where they started talking to Gabrielle Delacour and another first-year like they'd known them forever.

"Who's her friend?" I asked, indicating the tall girl. 

"Jervis Liatos."

"Jervis?"

"We call her Java… you really have no clue about your own house, do you? No wonder you weren't made prefect."

Draco glared.

"Sorry…" He cocked an eyebrow at Draco again and shrugged. "Seriously, though, you don't know anyone outside your year?" 

"I know the seventh and sixth years." Draco said coolly.

"Not one for socializing?" Draco gave him a scowl. "That'll be a no, right?" Jared almost sounded chipper. Now that was annoying. A small part of Draco screamed, _Jesus Draco, I'd like to see _you_ with P.M.S. if this is normal behavior. _ The majority of Draco proceeded to mentally gang up on this bit and kick its figmented little butt.

Yes… when the halves of Draco's brain wage war… That would mean time to go to bed. "You can teach me etiquette tomorrow, kid. I need my beauty rest." As he stared to the corridor leading to the boys' dormitories, he found himself unintentionally glancing to the exit of the common room to the rest of the castle, but Hermione was a prefect, and would never sneak out at night, even for him.

***

Hermione sat up and looked around. For the first few seconds of the day she was normal.

She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, then remembered that today was the first day of the term. She allowed herself a small smile before she grabbed her robes and amazingly shiny prefect badge, not even wanting to look at herself in the mirror before she made it to the shower, knowing full well her hair was poofed out to the point of being an afro. She tossed a lot when she slept, and that paired with her hair didn't really make her a very happy girl in the morning.

After a quick shower and a little muggle foundation that her mother had let her bring this year, the only makeup she owned, and she was set. She brushed through her hair to flatten it and smiled good-morning to Parvati and Lavender, who usually woke up a half-hour before her and finished putting on their makeup charms at least fifteen minutes after her.

She paused in the dorm room and, on a whim, rummaged through her things for a small while (it didn't take long to find even the most neglected items— everything was organized to a fault) and came out with a large red barrette. She clipped it behind her hair and slipped on her Mary Janes. With a glance at the clock she noted that she was still about ten minutes earlier than usual. She shrugged to herself and went downstairs, wondering if she could catch a word with Draco before the Great Hall was too crowded.

As she walked down the marble staircase, she was very happy to see Draco just emerging from the dungeons with Crabbe and Goyle right behind him like big, stupid trains on his robes. Hermione gave him a smile and he stopped. Goyle looked around, but Crabbe didn't notice at all. Draco shooed him on and he nodded, looking at Hermione with a look that made her raise an eyebrow and wish he'd hurry up and go in already. 

Draco's hair was still slicked back, damn the bloody blond strands to hell.

She fought back an almost irresistible urge to muss it again but, being the good girlfriend she was, stifled it. He smoothed it down flatter to his skull, seeming to know what she was about to do, and she rolled her eyes. 

"So what's the current events in jolly old Gryffindor Tower?" He said jauntily. "Did Weasley managed to get his shoes on all by himself?" Hermione hit him lightly.

"Uncalled for, Draco Aidan. I said a lack of open hostility, did I not?"

He mumbled under his breath again and she sighed, but smiled. She finally grabbed his sleeve and started to get him into the Great Hall, when he suddenly paused. 

"Uh, wait, Hermione…" She turned around to face an even paler Draco than usual, but kept a hold of his sleeve, and swung it back and forth like a little girl holding onto her father. "Hermione… I kinda…"

_This isn't good._ She thought matter-of-factly to herself.

"KindatoldtheSlytherinsi'mgoingwithyoutogetinformationonPotter."

"… _What_?" She hissed as she grabbed the front of hisd robes and marched him away from the door of the Great Hall to a corner, where they weren't in everyone's way.

He let out a very whiny moan. "Her_mi_one! It was Pansy's fault, she was being _mean_." He emphasized the mean with all the seriousness of a valley girl trying to prove _why_ highwaters are _so_ much better than capris.

She couldn't help but laugh at first, but then she caught herself, stopped, and kicked his shin. Hard. With really hard-soled shoes.

"Jesus Christ Hermione!" He hissed at her as he grabbed his shin and started bouncing around in a funny little dance. "You're so mean!"

She looked up in the air as if pondering this. "Yes. Yes I am, but that's your problem isn't it. Should have thought about it before going with a muggle. We're all _crazy_, you know." She snapped her teeth at him to prove her point. He glanced around to make sure none of his housemates were around, and then kissed her. Too much action from _her_ mouth not involving _his_ mouth was starting to bug him, and they'd only been going out a month.

They parted quickly; she was blushing like a Weasley. "Draco, I'm a prefect." He kissed her again, on the nose. "But _I'm_ not. So do you think I care?" He said in a teasing voice. She brought her hands up to his neck and grinned. She put one finger up. He took this to mean one more kiss, and that he gave her.

They were still standing in a corner of the Entrance Hall, and now a few more students were leaking in from the various directions of their rooms, but Hermione was hidden behind Draco's shoulders, so Draco didn't care. He kissed her again, and they just stayed like that for a while, in their own country, continent, planet, whatever. They were alone and together and it was glorious.

When they parted she still had a finger raised. 

"What's that, he asked quietly. She more felt it than heard it.

She stood on tiptoes to get up to his ear and whispered in it. "One point for Slytherin."

***

_Awwww!_

Yeah, I gave you fluff. Happy now? *grin* Well, I don't care, I'm happy.

Just so you know, Claire is my beautiful self-insertion. She forgets everything, without fail, has little short legs and big brown eyes and mousy hair that JUST FREAKING WON'T DECIDE BETWEEN PRETTY GOLD AND PRETTY BROWN *simmers*… and doesn't like everyone else's favorite teacher. She's totally annoying but somehow there's still some poor sap that loves her. (AKA- HI AUB!!)

Aub named her. I wanted her to be named Chloe, but it was too Mary-Sueish because I love 'Chloe' and it owns.

Jervis is named after a girl I met at a football game. I couldn't remember her name at all so being the lazy kid I am, just called her Java, knowing if I called her anything too close to her real name she'd know I had no idea what it was. ^_^;; Her name stuck with me as the girl with the gross name but awesome nickname.

Jared's just there. I picked the first name that came to my head and for some reason it was Jared. I keep wanting to call him Jason or Justin, and I have no idea why. If I did a few times in here… um, I'll suck. *nods*

Thanks for the falafel explanations. Falafel r0x0rz. And since I got feedback, I have another question (a cookie to the first answer!): In Black & White, is it normal to have to go through the entire starting cinema until those slow-as-hell villagers finish the temple and I can just go to my saved game? It's hurting my head. *shuffles feet,  blinks* 

ANYway. 

Damned Dirty Chapter Three Revooers (In amazingtastic reverse order):  Indarae, G*Ness (she ownz), Mayleesa, michee (… *titters insanely*), Caswy, Son of Evil (aww), Dragon from the Black Lagoon (Heeey! There's a possibility Gabby's really awesome! I have a twinkie for a sister, but I'm not like her… right? RIGHT?! … *sobs*), krissy, Emaeleigha (You're right! CG HAVE no substance: they eat, run on the treadmill, and mate) (someone read _RatBoys_ for me, cause it owns me) (Oh yeah, sorry for stealing your ideas all the time. *grin*) , Desert Falcon, porkypop, Rosandra May, aaaaand! Calypso in Love!!

**_This chapter in loving memory of:_**

Humper J.A. Becerra-Goetz

**_You shall be missed!!_**


	5. Friday at Potions

(A/N: LOOKLOOKLOOK! I blended the short chapters again! Now…. IT'S A LONG CHAPTER! And yes, you have to review again)

(A/N: I have a messenger bag *grin* I dunno, I suppose that's just what came to my mind when Harry burst Cedric's bag and all the other fun descriptions of it… Plus, I also picked up that the class periods are more on the hour-and-a-half-long side, so I thought their schedule was: Two classes, lunch, put books away, two classes, end of day. *shrug* And I know how bad it is to have to carry too many books in one of those things… mine can't handle more than three, so I guess that's why they're getting by but Herm was having trouble in PoA)

***

Chapter Five

***

Harry twitched and shook his head as Ron sat down, glaring ferociously across Harry's desk to Hermione, who gave Harry a pleading look. He was getting quite sick of having to be the mediator in their squabbles. Really, it was just Hermione's business who she went out with. And it wasn't like she was flaunting her boyfriend in their faces or anything.

At that very moment, Malfoy sauntered to the back of the room, where all the Gryffindors tried to cluster as far away from Snape as they could for the first Potions class of the year. Harry rubbed his temples and pleaded to the gods that he would not dare talk to Hermione in front of Ron.

"Hey," he murmured to Hermione, and then he gave a nod in Harry and Ron's general direction before kneeling in front of her desk to mutter to her. Harry very discreetly reached to grab a bit of Ron's robes to stop him from pouncing on Malfoy's head.

"Harry, why does she have to do that?" he asked quietly, his teeth gritted, but his eyes a little sad. "She had to know I… liked her, right?"

Harry let go of his robes. "I guess not, Ron. I mean, it wasn't like you weren't obvious or anything—" Ron straightened up, glaring, "—but she really doesn't pick up on… people well."

Ron sighed and set to rubbing his dirty cauldron with his dirty sleeve. "You don't think they've… you know…" He leaned in close… "_done_ anything, do you?"

Harry snorted as Malfoy straightened and Snape swooped in. The professor's eyes immediately went to Ron and Harry's cauldrons, ready for anything wrong they could possibly be doing, but then he saw Malfoy and Hermione.

Malfoy, who didn't seem to notice Snape's entrance, glanced to the front of the room with a small smirk at the Slytherins only slightly before leaning in and kissing Hermione's cheek.

Snape looked, at first, rather taken aback; his demeanor changed in record time to more deadly than the poison he had stashed in his desk— just in case. He coughed and Malfoy jumped, and then coolly went back to his seat. Snape rapped his fingers on the desk twice, and then turned to Hermione. "Granger… Malfoy, public signs of affection are prohibited. Five points from Gryffindor." His mouth twitched. "And Slytherin."

The Slytherins, who, for the most part, had not noticed where Draco had been, all turned towards him and stared, open-mouthed.

"What?" He snapped. 

***

Draco sat unruffled for the rest of class. He and Hermione had actually done it— because of course, they had planned for Snape to subtract points from Gryffindor, although they were surprised he'd had the nerve to take them from Slytherin. Hermione had been royally pissed at him for lying to the Slytherins, but there was no way to go back on a lie like that, so they'd just pretend he'd never said anything and go back to their original plan— normalcy. 

"Draco." Goyle threw a note over Draco's cauldron and onto his desk. Draco twitched, surprised that Goyle took the time to write a note, but immediately noted it was from Pansy.

_Draco,_

_What on Earth were you thinking!_

_I know you must keep up apeerances, but really!_

_You must have known you'd get points taken away!_

_--Pansy_

He stared.

Pansy- 

_It's spelled "appearances", and of course I knew I'd get points taken. I mean, this way she thinks that I'd sacrifice stuff for her. You know, I'd go against my house and stuff. Then I'll have her trust._

_-Draco_

He passed it to Goyle, then right after, mentally slapped himself. _It's. Just. A. Normal. Relationship. Draco._

He sighed and started slicing his four leaf clover petals. _Damn me, I suppose, _he thought with a visible shrug.

***

After potions, the Slytherins had Transfiguration and the Gryffindors had electives— Divination for Harry and Ron, Arithmancy for Hermione. 

Hermione shrugged her messenger bag onto her shoulder and winked at Ginny as she left the class. Ginny was visiting with Colin Creevey and Thalia Akers, waiting to be let in, but excused herself and went over to Hermione. "What's going on with the upperclassmen?" Ginny asked. "You and Malfoy sneak in the supply closet for a little private time?"

Hermione blushed. "Well, actually—"

Ginny gaped. "No way!" 

"No, I don't mean we snuck in the closet! We did kiss."

"Hermione, you rebel."

"What?"

Ginny grinned. "I dunno. I expected him to put on the moves or something. Show off for his friends."

"In the middle of potions."

The younger girl grinned. "You never know with a Slytherin."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What, they have specially developed libidos?"

"Libidos? Who uses _that_ word? And anyway." She added, eying a boy Draco just happened to be talking to with the slightest twitch of a smile on her face. Jared Harpe. He was fairly cute with thorny brown hair and silver eyes, not so different from Draco's, but warmer. Both girls stood for a few seconds, indiscreetly checking him out. "They are… different…"

"Okay, I'll set you up with Crabbe if you have such an interest in Slytherin boys."

The redhead grinned cheekily.  

***

Ginny said goodbye and went into the classroom when Snape let the door open. He eyed their class warily and his fears were confirmed when Claire Perth waggled her fingers in hello to him mockingly. He glared. Ginny snickered. 

In this class, too, the Gryffindors tried to cluster to the back for all they were worth, but this year, Claire, Java, Jared, and Jared's friend Mandel were in the Gryffindors' seats. Ginny looked over at Thalia, who'd very calmly taken a seat next to Colin in the second row.

"Excuse me," Ginny said sweetly to Java, the sweetest of the group, save Jared, who Ginny really didn't want to talk to, for fear of the Weasley Blush©. "I'm sorry, but don't the Gryffindors usually sit here?"

Java gave her a secretary's smile. "Fall into a rut and you'll never get out, Ginny." She answered serenely. Ginny cocked an eyebrow to show her how stupid that had been, but nodded, as she really didn't have anything else to say. She stalked up to where Colin sat, but the seat was taken. She sighed and went up to sit in the front row. (Throughout this, her cauldron had followed her anxiously down the rows, wondering where it should be set.)

Ginny kept glancing back at Thalia, waiting for a note or something, because the only way they'd made it through Potions for the last three years was whispering to each other about how cute Oliver or Cedric or Harry or Draco or Jared was. Thalia just sent shrugs her way.

Class was depressingly uneventful, save a small explosion in the back of the room about halfway through class that involved Claire screaming made-up curse words to her cauldron and bawling that Jared was dying, while he yelled back to her that his glasses had just been knocked off, calm down! Snape had to put a muting charm on Claire to get her calmed down. She had hiccupped continually from then on.

Finally, near the end class, Ginny froze. There was a note on the floor. It didn't have a name on the front, like Thalia always put, but it had to be from her.

Ginny picked it up inconspicuously and read through it.

***

"Ron."

"Ronald."

"Weasley."

Harry poked him with his fork. 

"Ow! Harry, what was that for?" Ron rubbed his hand, but continued staring at Gabrielle Delacour, as he had been all throughout supper.

Hermione was disgusted. "Ron, she's eleven. You're fifteen. Knock it off for another, oh, seven years, will you?"

Ron's eyes gleamed. "Yeah… She'd be eighteen…"

"Harry!" She wailed. 

Ginny was more quiet than she usually was in Harry's presence. "Gin? You okay?" Hermione asked quietly once Harry had gotten Ron into a Quidditch discussion.

The redhead smiled sullenly, and then gave a note to Hermione. Hermione took it. It was from Pansy to Draco. Hermione scanned it, then groaned and jumped up, on her way to the Slytherin table.

Ginny stared. There were different ways she'd have thought Hermione would have taken this, but this wasn't one of them.

***

"Draco. Aidan. Malfoy."

Draco turned around to see Hermione, looming over him with a scowl. Uh oh.

"Why are you lying to them?" She said, as loudly as possible, so that most of the Slytherins were now looking her way.

"Herm…"

"You know you like me. Why is it so hard to tell them?"

Draco glared evilly at her. She didn't react, just stood there behind him with her hands on her hips and her lips pursed. "Er…"

"_Tell them_!"

He cringed and turned to Pansy, then pointed to Hermione. "She… I… and… yeah…" Pansy's lip quivered. "Oh fuck it, I love Hermione. I lied to you because you're really pathetic and prejudiced, and I am too of course, but beneath all the know-it-all bookishness and Gryffindor stuff, she's a great girl. So. Yeah."

And then, for the first time in his life, Draco Malfoy fully blushed. Hermione lay her hands on his shoulders and leaned in to kiss his cheek. 

"That was actually sweet."

"I hate you." He mumbled conversationally.

"I love you too, Draco." She kissed him again.

He turned and glared. "Get out of my sight, Gryffindor scum."

"Mmkay!" She said chipperly, and then skipped away. Draco tried with all his might to glower, but ended up laughing.

He turned back to the Slytherin table to see Jared, Crabbe, and Goyle gaping; Pansy bawling onto Millicent Bulstrode's shoulder; and Java and Claire giggling and clapping. He bowed his head in their general direction, with much flourish.

***

Back at the Gryffindor table, the reaction was rather the same. Ginny, Ron, and Harry were gaping and Parvati, Lavendar, and Thalia applauded. 

"Hermione, that was so cool! I wanna go out with a Slytherin!" 

Hermione raised an eyebrow, but smiled down at her plate as Parvati stood on the bench to check out the Slytherins. Ginny smiled too, shaking her head.

"So he _was_ pretending, right, you guys really like each other?"

"If he'd like to keep his liver, we like each other," Hermione answered very quietly.

***

Whee! 

I'm lazy so  I'm not saying thanks to you people! Ha Ha Ha hardy Ha!

… NO! You still have to review!! *staples reviewers to computers* I'm just not recognizing you at all. Hmph.

Okay, I will next chapter.

Even though taking in all the effort I'm using to write this out, I might as well have just listed your names.

Oh well.

I like Doritos. I'm all out of them though.

My betareader has gotten a life and so the grammar in the last few chapters hasn't been corrected.

Soooda.

GAH! Just review. I promise I'll shut up.


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